As the Crow Flies
by puffpygmy
Summary: A collection of (mostly short) one-shots about our favorite valet and lady's maid, because high word counts, complex plots, and I don't quite see eye to eye.
1. 1

A light pattering of rain on the window followed a distant rumble of thunder from a few minutes before. It was late, likely well past midnight. He should've been asleep by now, but just the thought of the pain he knew she was going through kept him from finding any kind of rest. They'd only had a few spare moments alone after she'd received the telegram earlier that night before Mrs. Parrish had come snooping around.

Without warning his door squeaked on its hinges. Kenneth turned his head towards the sound and sat up in bed, unsure of whom to expect at that hour. But the figure who stepped into his room made his heart quicken; the same reaction it had every time he saw her. Kenneth sat up in bed in pure shock at the image of Mabel Watson standing in his room dressed in a long creamy nightgown and duster, her dark curls in a single plait down her shoulder.

He said nothing as she softly shut the door, then turned around to face him. She hugged her arms around herself and found his gaze. The rain fell harder outside as she took a few tentative steps towards him, then stopped. When he realized she seemed to still be facing an internal dilemma, Kenneth slowly brushed aside the covers and closed the short distance between them. He found himself at a loss as for what to do next, simply standing what he hoped was a respectful distance in front of her, suddenly unsure of what to say and what to with his hands. Lightning flashed outside the window, illuminating her face. It was then that he saw the unmistakable tear tracks on her cheeks, and all of the uncertainty that filled him just moments before vanished.

He took a step forward and rested his hands on her arms.

"I-I need-," she started to whisper, cutting herself off when she pressed her lips together to hold back the tears glistening in her eyes.

Kenneth didn't think; he simply wrapped an arm around her back and guided her to his bed and helped her in. He pulled the sheets up to her shoulders before walking over to the wardrobe in the corner of the room and reaching to the top for a blanket. When he sat back on the bed he did so on top of the sheets, gingerly lying down beside Mabel, then covering himself with the newly acquired blanket.

Uncertainty returned for the first moments he found himself lying so close to Mabel in his own bed. She surely felt it too, but surprised Kenneth by scooting closer him, if that were even possible, on the tiny single bed. He stuffed one hand under the pillow and wrapped his other arm around her, rubbing his fingers in little strokes across her back.

"I wish you could've met him," Mabel whispered into the tiny space between their faces. Her voice cracked and she covered her face with her hands. As her body racked with quiet sobs Kenneth brough his other arm under her shoulder and pulled her as close to him as physically possible.

"I'm sorry, my darling. I'm so sorry."


	2. 2

Kenneth shook his head and nudged the full glass of cider in a little circle between his thumb and forefinger. He just couldn't get the woman out of his head, no matter what he tried. The screech of a chair dragging across the wooden floor of the pub made his gaze shoot up, and was met with the sight of a thin, white haired, bearded man taking up right at his table.

"So tell me lad, what's her name?"

Kenneth blinked once at the old man's sudden question, laced with a thick Scottish burr. What?

"Pardon?"

The old man chuffed an all-knowing chuckle, lightly adjusting his worn brown Derby hat.

"The woman you're pinin' for," he said as a matter of fact.

What? He stuttered. "Sir, do I know you? I don't think we've met…"

"Never seen you before in my life, laddie. But an old man knows a hurtin' heart when he sees one. Alastair MacEwan, by the way. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Alastair poked his gnarled hand out across the table, and Kenneth found himself returning the gesture. He was certainly in no position to be rude; he hadn't a single inkling of a clue what he'd gotten himself into. "Kenneth Barnes."

Alastair nodded a greeting. "Now, what's that lass's name?"

Kenneth had enough gumption to try for an ounce of denial.

"I don't know what you're talking about." The look Alastair gave him was withering. There was something about this old man...something he couldn't quite put his finger on, but Kenneth found he couldn't lie to him. He took a breath and shoved his cider around a bit more. He'd barely let his own brain think the thoughts he was about to speak out loud, much less tell them to a complete stranger.

"Her name...it's Mabel. Her name is Mabel."

"Hmm. How long?"

Another deep breath. "A little over a year. I remember the exact moment I realized…"

"And she doesn't know you're in love with her, does she?"

"No. No, I don't reckon she does." He paused. His next thought brought a small smile to his lips. "We bicker all the time, you see. Ever since we first met. I'll do something stupid and she'll be right there, telling me off for what exactly it is I've done wrong. Sometimes I tease her, just because I love getting that reaction out of her. And we just go at it, back and forth, like we've been born to get into rows with each other. So no, I don't suppose I've any right for her to know."

"If there's any advice from an old man you'll hear today, Mr. Barnes, it's this: in all the years that I've been on this earth, I've seen two different sorts of couples who shared a true passion for each other. The first got along right from the start. You could count the number of times they've been cross with each other on a single hand. The other couple, now, couldn't seem to go a single hour without finding something to squabble about, and anyone would swear that they were at each other's necks every time they saw them." He chuckled softly. "But that second couple? They were just as crazy for each other when they were eighty and wrinkled as they were when they were when they were twenty." A twinkle lit up Alastair's cloudy blue eyes and a soft smile touched his cheeks.

"Are you talking about…?"

Alastair lightly dipped his head at Kenneth's pointed finger.

"My Hannah and I were married for sixty-two years before the good Lord decided it was time to take her home. And if she were here right now she'd ring my neck for butting into other people's business. But-" he looked up to the ceiling of the pub and cupped his hand around his mouth. "There's nothing you can do about it now, my darling."

"Don't let yourself miss out on this love of yours, Mr. Barnes. Tell your Mabel how you feel. How you truly feel."


	3. 3

Mabel caught her husband's eye halfway down the stairs. One of the maids hurried past her, twittering about Lady Georgiana's something or other.

"We have to leave this instant if we don't want to be late to Her Ladyship's wedding!"

Mrs. Parrish's voice drowned out the excited chatter in the foyer. The normally soft-spoken housekeeper appeared to have a particular bee in her bonnet this morning. Mabel descended the last stairs, stepping into the arm extended for her. Her husband inconspicuously wrapped his arm around her waist, and she felt his fingers through her corset, just resting on her stomach. He angled his mouth down towards her ear.

"You look incredible in that, Mrs. Barnes."

Just as he knew would happen, Mabel's cheeks lit in a deep scarlet flush. She didn't have to look to see that boyish grin that spread across his face. She discreetly pinched his fingers in her left hand and uncoiled his arm from from her waist, moving it into the proper position so that she could slip her arm through the crook of his elbow. She gave his forearm a light swat.

"Behave yourself, Mr. Barnes," she murmured below her breath, at which he chuckled. "I know that you've seen me in this dress before. More than once, in fact."

"Yes, Mrs. Barnes, I have in fact. But that was before I was your husband."

He caught her eye once more, and Mabel couldn't help the small smile that spread on her lips.


End file.
